Japan finmin Aso says Huawei ban could affect Japanese firms

Published Thu, May 16 2019 8:50 PM EDT

TOKYO, May 17 (Reuters) - A U.S. bid to block China's Huawei Technologies from buying vital American technology could affect Japanese companies and weigh on economic growth, Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Friday.

"There are Japanese companies that supply parts to Huawei, and supply chains are intertwined in complex ways," Aso told a news conference after a regular cabinet meeting.

"Through such supply chains, there could be direct and indirect effects on Japan," he said.

The Trump administration on Thursday officially added China's Huawei to a trade blacklist, immediately enacting restrictions that will make it extremely difficult for the telecom giant to do business with U.S. companies. (Reporting by Leika Kihara Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)